A FERRY normally only seen in the Solent has been spotted off the coast of Brighton and Hove.

Onlookers were surprised to see the vessel floating off the shore near the King Alfred in Hove about 45 minutes ago.

One passer-by, Ray Farrow, said the Brittany Ferry was stopped off shore near the leisure centre at about 9.15am.

Just after 10am, the ship, called Normandie, was seen between the Palace Pier and the Brighton Wheel.

The Marine Traffic website shows it had drifted from the Solent area to the coast off of Brighton overnight with the tide.

HM Coastguard had not received any reports of a ferry in trouble.

A spokesman for Brittany Ferries said: "Normandie usually sails the Portsmouth to Caen route.

"Today sadly she can't because there is a national strike in France supported by its dockers, meaning we can't have any services sailing to Caen.

"In terms of where that leaves our ferries, we have two ships berthed in Portsmouth.

"The Normandie needed to make a bit of space and, effectively, rather than burning fuel, the captain undertook a managed drift with the tide. It is very much managed, harnessing the tide."

As of 11.30am it switched its engines on and moved away.